Written by Ernest Jolicoeur and Anthony F. Mangieri
Muse and Mercy is the definitive guide to Salve Regina University’s collections of fine and decorative arts. This book highlights 75 museum-quality works across a range of mediums, including painting, stained glass, sculpture, woodwork, metalwork, engraving, drawing, illustration, book arts, photography, ceramics, textiles, mosaics, graphic design, and landscape architecture. Of particular historical importance are the period rooms and works that decorate the Gilded Age mansions that comprise the University’s campus.
Just under 200 color illustrations and historical photographs visually document the University’s impressive collections, enhanced by new photography taken exclusively for this book. Many works are published here for the first time. An interpretative or explanatory essay accompanying each catalog entry locates works within their original historical contexts, thus, revealing their artistic and cultural significance. An introductory essay, bibliography for further reading, two indexes, and a campus map promise to enrich your experience of art on Salve Regina’s campus.
Readers and visitors to campus interested in art and architecture will find a wealth of original scholarship published here for the first time. For those intrigued by the Gilded Age, more than half of the artworks featured in this book illuminate this fascinating period so meaningful to Newport’s history. At the same time, the University’s art collections survey rather comprehensively the history of art, including works either created in or inspired by all of the major art historical periods, from the ancient world to the present-day. Seven chapters organize the artworks cataloged in this book, each drawing out major themes and ideas among pieces.
The publication of this corpus of 75 works of art celebrates the 75th anniversary of Salve Regina University’s founding (1947-2022).
The works of art highlighted in Muse and Mercy are primary sources that tell many different stories about the past. Through the visual arts, we learn about the lives of historical people, what was important to them, and the world in which they lived. This book helps to unravel these stories for readers who want to learn more about art, the Gilded Age, and Salve Regina University.
A portion of the proceeds for sales includes a gift to the University.
Learn more about the project: https://art.salvereginauniversity.com/muse-and-mercy-celebrating-75-years-of-art-at-salve-regina-university/